Game-Specific Tricks
This page is for speedrunning tricks that are specific to individual games in the series. It will probably be split up into individual pages eventually. Launching should probably be its own page. Click here for Basic Tricks and techniques that are applicable, regardless of game. Halo: Combat Evolved Backpack Reloading Backpack reloading is a combat technique. By pressing X,X,Y (Reload, Reload, Switch Weapon), you can fire your secondary weapon while your primary weapon reloads itself in your back pocket. You should hear the reloading noise while your secondary weapon is equipped. Tailwhipping Tailwhipping is a movement technique. It is performed by slightly turning the Warthog from left to right and jumping out. If you time it properly, the rear-left tire of the Warthog should hit you, launching you into the air. It is used on Halo, where tailwhipping launches Master Chief into the Forerunner complex much faster than walking into the tunnels. You can also tailwhip using a Ghost. Since Master Chief exits the Ghost on the right side in Halo CE, you have to turn from right to left. Double Melee (CE) BLB Wall Hacking (CE) Wallhacking is a vehicle glitch that relies on Halo CE's ridiculous vehicle physics. It can be done with any vehicle, but the ghost is the most popular. It is performed by strafing right in a ghost towards a wall, and then exiting the ghost just before you hit the wall. The ghost will continue to strafe after you exit it, and the force of the ghost will push you through the wall. This can also be achieved will other vehicles with slight variations of the method (ie. strafing backward and then exiting when using a banshee). Halo 2 Sword Flying Sword flying is a movement and combat technique. It lets you lunge towards enemies across long distances. Unlike the normal limit on the sword's lunge distance, sword flying allows you to cover vast distances at high speed. via scurty: : First off, you need to make sure you have two things: The Xbox Live update NOT installed and a sword with another weapon of your choice. : Sword flying is a simple three button combination that is quick to master because it has a rhythm to it. The button combination goes in this order: (Y) (X) (Right Trigger) The first two are hit in rapid succession (usually by the sliding of your thumb) while the third button is hit slower than the first two are spaced apart. Watch the video to hear how it sounds. I use two hands when I sword fly, but people have done it one handed (as have I) but I personally believe it's more reliable with two hands. Each to his/her own. : Your reticule must be red for this to work on your gun when you switch to your sword (by pressing Y). You also don't have to be zoomed if if you don't want to, although in most cases you will be zoomed in. Most people find it easier to swordfly with an Xbox 360 controller than with an Xbox controller. To swordfly with one hand, slide your thumb from Y to X, then press R. Alternatively, you can swordfly while clawing by rolling your index finger from Y to X, then pressing R with your middle finger. This allows you to aim while preparing to swordfly. If an enemy is standing still, you will be able to swordfly over its head and past it. If it is moving, the swordfly will stop when it is above the enemy's original position. The Rocket Launcher is one of the most useful weapons to swordfly with, because it has a large reticule and 2x scope, and turns red at fairly long distances without much aiming. A good way to confirm if you're pressing the buttons quick enough is to temporarily leave out R and watch the crosshair; if the crosshair turns red when you've switched to your sword, then you're doing it correctly. Sword Canceling Sword canceling is a movement technique. In its simplest form, sword canceling is the ability to "cancel" the effects of a sword lunge. If you press R to lunge, you can press X (Reload) to cancel the impact of the lunge any time before it hits. This can be utilized to travel long distances in tight quarters. To swordcancel past an enemy, press R+X+A simultaneously (Fire, Reload, Jump). R+X will perform the sword cancel, and jumping will make you rise in height as you lunge, thus letting you fly through the air. To swordcancel over an enemy's head, press A, then R+X+A simultaneously. The first jump gives you height to get over the enemy. Superbouncing Superbouncing is a variation of a pressure launch, used to bounce to incredible heights. It works by exploiting a property of the Halo 2 engine. If the player model intersects with the geometry, the game will apply a large amount of force to try and push the player out. (pls write tutorial) Superbounces differ between PAL and NTSC, because different framerates means different intervals for collision detection. Wall-of-text explanation: : Collision-related physics as they are implemented in video games are executed in three stages. The first stage is detection: the physics engine must know when two objects collide. However, knowing is not enough -- by the time the collision is detected, the two objects will likely be intersecting. The game engine must fix this problem, and extricate the objects from one another; this would be the second stage. A typical solution to this problem is to very briefly apply a massive amount of force (commonly called an "impulse") to free the objects from one another. After that, there is the third stage, whose effects are actually perceptible; here, the computer "bounces" the objects off of each other, applying the appropriate amount of deformations, friction, etc : When this glitch happens, the player is significantly embedded into the level geometry. Because they are intersecting the geometry a lot, an extremely massive amount of force (as opposed to a regularly massive amount of force) must be applied. This force has the side-effect of affecting the player's momentum, such that the player continues to move out of the surface and into the air. Ghost Quick Turn While boosting in a Ghost, hold A to lean back and raise the nose of the Ghost. This lets you turn more sharply while maintaining your boost. Double Shot RRXYYRRX Double Grenade Fire a plasma pistol overcharge. When the overheat bar is at halfway, quickly tap L twice. You should throw two grenades in quick succession. This is useful for some launches. You can also double nade with a beam rifle overheat, but the timing is different. (screenshot pls) Double Melee (H2) In addition to the BLB method from Halo CE, you can also do BXB or BYB Quick Reload X,YY or X,BX - link does this work on host? is this useful for speedrunning Infinite Camo tutorial goes here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmL68QXF6Qk Ghosting Going through doors. - link Not yet viable... Corner Riding is this useful for speedrunning? Halo 3 + ODST All Halo 3 tricks are also possible in Halo 3: ODST, which uses the same engine. However, tricks which rely on equipment are not possible, as enemies either do not drop equipment, or it is impossible for the player to pick up equipment in ODST. Butterflying Butterflying is a movement technique, possible in Halo 2 and Halo 3. With an enemy in melee distance, mash B and X (Melee and Reload) repeatedly. This will make you lunge, but cancel the actual impact of the melee attack. Butterflying can be used to "drone ride," or pull yourself towards a moving Drone as it flies. This is faster than walking. The most noticeable use of butterflying in this sense is on Crow's Nest. (move this to Basic Tricks?) Box Launching Halo 3/ODST game engine allow the same box launching methods, however results vary due to game specific differences e.g. jump height.(rorcin) In Halo 3, box launches can be done on: *Covenant supply cases *UNSC weapon crates *on top of fusion coils *overturned Warthogs *Mongooses (from either side, with a plasma grenade for good measure) *large barrels on Sierra 117 *grates on Crow's Nest and Cortana *small boxes on The Storm/Floodgate You can achieve increased power and distance by deploying a Trip Mine or Power Drain near the box before swinging. Similarily, box launches can be enhanced with grenades or nearby explosives, albeit to a lesser extent. Cone Launching Swag Deployable Cover (DC) Launching DC Launching is a movement technique, and a variation of Pressure Launching. It works because the player model intersects with the geometry of the Deployable Cover. Look down, jump, and deploy the DC as you begin to fall so you end up inside of it. You can either inch, walk, or run forward and if you don't get pushed out early, you might get launched. Ideally, you should crouch as you land for more accuracy and for a reference point (seeing your foot placement). In segmented runs, there are several setups that'll yield a more powerful launch. These are ideally done with a checkpoint in mind. slYnki's method: *look down, jump (do not crouch), deploy just as you are about to land, crouch before or as you hit the floor, inch forward twice ZealotSG's methods: *Simple : look down, jump (don't crouch), deploy, crouch after landing, wait a second, walk forward *Cannon : look down, jump and crouch, deploy, move forward as you land, move back, then move forward. Wait a second then tap, inch, or walk forward Equipment Jumping Equipment Jumping allows you to get a "double jump" and gain extra height/distance. Look down, jump, throw an equipment, and jump again. Ideally, it should be done at the peak of your jump, as it does not usually work while falling. Some equipment jumps will only work with a specific character model (i.e. Power Drain and Trip Mine are exclusive to Elites). For Auto Turrets, it works a bit differently, but bear in mind that you're better off using other equipment for the jump. As a Spartan (Master Cheif), you have to look down, run forward, and throw the Auto Turret slightly in front of you, where you can crouch to jump instantly (at the peak of your jump), or you can delay the throw, where you have to wait until you land on it, then jump. You can use this to change the direction of your jump. As an Elite, you have to use the 2nd method. This trick speeds up the 343 Guilty Spark fight in Halo. Halo: R Halo 4 Box Launching (Gravity Hammer) Box launching returns from Halo 3, although it is now harder to gain horizontal distance. On the bright side, it is a lot easier to gain vertical height, by means of standing on top of one. There aren't very many opportunities for box launching, as the Gravity Hammer only spawns on the last mission, Midnight. This is arguably the best use for it. Box Launching (Railgun) Find any box, get on top of it, fire a shot at the ground and you should get launched upward. Obviously, foot placement is important. It can be combined with other explosives to achieve even greater height, ideally done on Co-op. Cowbell is not necessarily required.